Secrets Revealed!
Written By: Geoff JohnsArt By: Gary Frank, Brad Anderson, Rob Leigh
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 4, 2019
It's the penultimate issue of this long, long event, that sadly may not be as big or as important to the overall DC Universe as we were all hoping, but has still nonetheless been entertaining as hell as we've watched our beloved Universe slowly become something that resembles where the Watchmen came from. The clocks ticking as the world is on the brink and it's here that we'll find out what cards everyone is holding. Let's jump into this issue and check it out.
While I've really enjoyed this series even with the horrendous delays, this issue decides that it's finally time to show us what's been going on behind the scenes with Ozymandias and Lex Luthor, which thankfully isn't some diabolical cabal that the both have been working on, but as it turns out, both have been playing separate games in the background to get what they want. Funny enough, Lex is just unraveling a mystery that came to attention almost by accident. Even with this reveal of what the man behind the curtain is up to shtick, most of what's revealed here doesn't come off as any huge revelation leading us into our big final issue.
Throughout this series we've found out that we're playing with the timeline of the DCU and it's here that we start to see the effects beyond that of Manhattan changing Superman throughout the years and we also see how Lex Luthor has been trying to get to the bottom of this time manipulation and the clues that led him to this realization and honestly, this bit of the book came off as the most enjoyable because while he's letting Lois Lane in on what he's found, Ozymandias with his villain monologue to Saturn Girl and Johnny Thunder comes off as more of the same of what we've seen in Watchmen, while also just coming off not as interesting as I would have liked. Hell, Mime and Marionette almost come off as a non entity now that we're shown that they really don't play any big parts in the story before or after, but maybe that will come into play for the big finale of this series, but as of right now it kind of came off as a letdown for how their story plays out here, not to mention that I still don't understand Comedian's involvement in this at all.
All in all, this is a book of reveals and while there are a ton of really cool things shown off in this book that have been waiting in the wings since this series began, there's also a bunch that kind of fall flat in my mind and almost come off as an afterthought or they were just there to say they were there even though we all could have come to the same conclusion. This isn't a bad issue by any means, but at this point in the story and with the delays I just kind of expected more out of this. I do love Gary Frank's art and how the story is trying to cover everything that has led up to this point, whether it has a big part to play next issue or not, but this issue just didn't wow me the way the last bunch have knocked my socks off.
Bits and Pieces:
A lot of reveals this issue with Ozymandias and Lex Luthor, but ultimately not everything hit as hard as I would have liked and there's still a lot to cover for the final installment of this series. Still a lot of fun though and some big moments depicted with some amazing art. I just wish it would have wowed me the way the previous couple of issues have.
7.5/10
My only question is is this series still in continuity or not? Because Alfred is alive which makes it hard for me to care about Batman #77. Plus Lex is human again and the JSA and LSH have just been reintroduced in other books and nothing currently going on seems to be building up to the events in this series.
ReplyDeleteWhile this was supposed to be the big important story to open up the DCU, it seemed to have changed with the delays, but now Scott Snyder says that things are being rewritten now to include what's going on with Snyder, Bendis and Johns' work. Hopefully it all works out well in the end.
DeleteYes it is. Have you read this issue and JL 31?
DeleteThis issue confirms that the Retroboot Legion from Pre-Flashpoint is erased. Lining up with Bendis' new Legion.
In Snyder's new JL issue, the JSA have NOT returned. Barry and John wound up in a previous version of the timeline via Hypertime. Both of them still do not remember the JSA ever existing. They even notice that their Doctor Fate (also Kent Nelson), Hawkman (also Carter Hall) and their Kendra (who reincarnated from Shiera) didn't ever bring them up despite them being on the JSA.
At the end Barry even kind of gets the feeling he knew Jay from a past life. Which matches with Lex's photo of the Flash of Two Worlds and his file on it talking about past lives.
Everything is lining up.
I feel like there's a crisis measuring contest going on at DC right now, and I don't enjoy that at all. We've got like 4 different cooks in the kitchen. Who's crisis is the real crisis? This issue looked great, and the facts line up well enough as laid out by Lex and Ozymandias. But we're through 11 issues and it turns out Ozymandias just orchestrated all this stuff to get to Earth and then... (We still don't actually know what success looks like for him). We got a now pointless issue about Mime and Marionette. We spent all this time on teasing the JSA and Legion, only to have neither really matter in this series at all. And both have now been dropped by Scott Snyder and Bendis in ways that don't really jive with this story. Very frustrating to have bought in at the beginning and be left hanging at issue 11 now two years later. I gave a 7 to this issue - 2 for story and 5 for art.
ReplyDeleteI've said this to the other user as well but I'd like to clarify.
DeleteAll three storylines do not contradict and actually link together.
The Legion in Bendis' story is not the true, or rather original Legion. The one we know seems to be erased (though I say we should wait until after the series finishes if they co exist like in Legion of 3 Worlds).
As for the JSA, they did not come back yet. Snyder's JL has Barry and John arrive at a previous version of the timeline where they still existed. Both Barry and John confirm they don't exist in the current timeline and that their Kent Nelson, Carter Hall and Kendra Saunders never brought up their existence despite the former two being on the team they meet and the latter having knowledge about her reincarnations.
Furthermore Barry brings up how he feels like he knew Jay in a previous life but can't quite remember fully. This lines up with Button and this issue of Doomsday Clock which in the back matter, has a page of Luthor's file on a photo of the Flash of 2 Worlds which he theorizes that came from a previous life, a previous version of their universe. Of the Metaverse.
Everything will come together.